COMPARE Boston MSMFT vs UIUC MFE

[PrakharT]

1. I think our program mainly uses only C++, R, Excel, and Matlab. Less exposure to programming is not a problem at all. Your experience will probably put you at the "more experienced at programming" half of the class. Some people come in with close to zero programming experience, and are still able to do well. The reason to this is as follows:
- There is a programming bootcamp you can attend before your first semester starts, which will pretty much cover all the pre-requisites of C++ you need to know.
- The core courses don't require very heavy programming. The finance professors allow us to use R, Excel, or Matlab for the homework and projects, but the examples are done in Excel - which means you can do the entire course with just Excel.
- The philosophy of the department seems to be that if you only want to do programming in your career, then you're probably pursuing the wrong degree.
- I could be wrong. I'm just starting my second semester, and it seems that we may do more programming this sem too.
- As an aside, you may want to review linear algebra. That seemed to be our professors' largest concern.

2. If you want an Algo-trading job, then you'll probably need to focus more on programming than other students. The majority of the students will probably go into risk management type jobs. I think the opportunities are there if you're intent on algo trading though:
- One of the corporate-sponsored final projects that you can choose entails building a trading algorithm using parallel processing on the Maxeler FPGA platform. There is a Maxeler machine in the MSFE student lounge, and you program your code on it. If you are very curious, then I have the paper that was written for this project by last year's team of students. The sponsor for that project is the CME, so you will have to go to Chicago every week if you're on that project.
- Emily is currently negotiating with the Computational Science and Engineering department so that MSFE students can register for CSE courses and pursue the CSE option certificate next semester. This will open up the possibility for students to register for more advanced CS courses like machine learning, data mining, etc...

3. At current, I would say the most opportunities are in proprietary trading. About a third of the 300+ companies that came to the engineering career fair last year were either prop-shops or in that industry. UIUC also has strong ties with the big 4 accounting firms so they make regular appearances at the business career fair.
- You cant wait around for opportunity to come to you though. A lot of the recruiters at the fairs do not even know what "financial engineering" or "quantitative finance" even is. You have to be able to communicate what you can do for them and how your skills can be useful to them so that you can make your own opportunity.

4. I don't know the answer to this. Traditionally, I believe that industry link-up would mean the strength of alumni connections. In that case, it would be very small as only 2 classes graduated ahead of us. As such coming to UIUC in no way ensures that you will get great connections to jobs like at Princeton, CMU or Berkeley. I see it as a ticket into a competition. You're paying for the chance to self-improve and compete, and the competition against the 40,000 other students on campus starts when you get here.

Thanks a lot. This was a satisfactory reply to my answer. Do you mind sharing placement stats as in, the average compensation that MSFE students receive, if you have an idea about it?

 

[drahmah]

Sorry, I don't know the compensation/placement stats. It will probably depend a lot on which industry, country, and the relevant work experience you already have for that job:
- Some students want to go back to their home country after graduating - where the salary is much lower than the US, but they can stay with their family.
- In the U.S., companies cannot discriminate pay just based on the school you went to. This means that if company A hires you, company A will not pay you a much lower salary than the MFE from CMU just because you went to a lower ranked school.

If compensation is very important to you, then I suggest you target a specific company where analyst and associate-level jobs offer that compensation level, and then see which program/location will give you the best chance to get into that company.

 

[maoshouse]

I have recently been admitted to the UIUC MSFE program and I have few questions. Please see if you can answer them:

1. How much programming is needed before joining the program? I have done my B Tech in IT but my job exp for 3 years was in Analytics where I used SQL, SPSS, and Excel. I am revising C++ right now

2. Would less exposure to programming be a problem in this program as I've heard that most people join Algo-trading jobs which need heavy programming background?

3. Are opportunities in hedge funds, asset management companies, quant finance, etc. are there?

4. How do you rate industry link up of this program?

Thanks

1. Honestly, I think you're all set. If you have taken an intro level as an undergrad, this will be just a review of old concepts. I know some of my classmates (I was in the 2013 class) elected to take the undergrad datastructures/algo class (CS 225) as an elective to really iron in the basics.
2. Less exposure to programming is a problem for anyone who wants to join an algo firm from any school.

3. Yes, the classes from mine and previous have gone pretty much all of the fields you mentioned.

4. Not sure, I though I'd say it's pretty solid. I do know that the program invites a lot of people from Chicago and schedules talks and seminars. The practicum projects provides industry exposure as well.

 

[drahmah]

1. Honestly, I think you're all set. If you have taken an intro level as an undergrad, this will be just a review of old concepts. I know some of my classmates (I was in the 2013 class) elected to take the undergrad datastructures/algo class (CS 225) as an elective to really iron in the basics.
2. Less exposure to programming is a problem for anyone who wants to join an algo firm from any school.

3. Yes, the classes from mine and previous have gone pretty much all of the fields you mentioned.

4. Not sure, I though I'd say it's pretty solid. I do know that the program invites a lot of people from Chicago and schedules talks and seminars. The practicum projects provides industry exposure as well.

great to know that I'm not the only student from UIUC posting on these forums

I'm also aware of a student from the 2013 class that stayed an extra semester to pursue a masters in computer science. There are a couple of options you can go for at the CS department while concurrently being an MSFE student:
1. CSE certificate: you can get this upon graduation if you complete 8 credits of CS courses.
2. CS minor: 20 credits of CS courses.
3. professional non-thesis masters in CS degree: 32 credits

(turns out being a MCS and MSFE at the same time is impossible as you have to finish the MCS within 3 semesters = 79 credits over three semesters. You can take MCS classes while being an MSFE, and have them transferred over when you start the MCS presumably)

You will have to stay an extra semester if you want to do 2 or 3. An extra semester costs $17,000. In the 2014 class, a couple of students are taking/auditing CS courses. You have to maintain a 2.75GPA in all your courses and your GPA is precious in job-hunting, so it's smarter to not take any if you don't feel confident that you can do well however.

 

[New Trader]

great to know that I'm not the only student from UIUC posting on these forums

I'm also aware of a student from the 2013 class that stayed an extra semester to pursue a masters in computer science. There are a couple of options you can go for at the CS department while concurrently being an MSFE student:
1. CSE certificate: you can get this upon graduation if you complete 8 credits of CS courses.
2. CS minor: 20 credits of CS courses.
3. professional masters in CS degree: 32 credits (can be online credits too taken as a part-time student)

You will have to stay an extra semester if you want to do 2 or 3. An extra semester costs $17,000. In the 2014 class, a couple of students are taking/auditing CS courses. I'm taking one too, and the intensity is a real eye opener (you thought you could be a quant?). You have to maintain a 2.75GPA in all your courses, so it's smarter to not take any if you don't feel confident that you can pass though.

Option 1: Do you still need to pay for those 8 extra credits?

 

[drahmah]

Option 1: Do you still need to pay for those 8 extra credits?

You only pay by semester and you can take up to 20 credits every semester.
The CSE certificate is offered freely to any undergrad/grad students in the participating departments as listed on their website.
- I think we're listed under the Industrial & Systems Engineering department.

If you want to graduate in 3 semesters, then you are mandated to follow the MSFE curriculum - which is 17 credits for the first two, and 13 in the third semester. So you can take three 3-credit CS courses over the three semesters to fulfill the 8 credit hours, or any other schedule you can concoct.
- If you're doing it over 2 years, then you have way more free credits because you only take three MSFE courses in the second semester = 13 credits.

Theres a lot of freedom in the elective courses you can take. It's easy to register for courses in some departments, while it takes some negotiation on the department-level to register for others. Like maoshouse said, I didn't know we can register for CS undergrad core courses. I guess policies differ between departments, and there appears to be some politics involved.

 

[HEYUXIAO]

great to know that I'm not the only student from UIUC posting on these forums

I'm also aware of a student from the 2013 class that stayed an extra semester to pursue a masters in computer science. There are a couple of options you can go for at the CS department while concurrently being an MSFE student:
1. CSE certificate: you can get this upon graduation if you complete 8 credits of CS courses.
2. CS minor: 20 credits of CS courses.
3. professional non-thesis masters in CS degree: 32 credits (can be online credits as well taken as a part-time student)

You will have to stay an extra semester if you want to do 2 or 3. An extra semester costs $17,000. In the 2014 class, a couple of students are taking/auditing CS courses. I'm taking one too, and the intensity is a real eye opener (you thought you could be a quant?). You have to maintain a 2.75GPA in all your courses and your GPA is precious in job-hunting, so it's smarter to not take any if you don't feel confident that you can do well however.

If an MSFE student want do option 3, is an application needed before MFE program started or after?

 

[drahmah]

If an MSFE student want do option 3, is an application needed before MFE program started or after?

This is their website:
http://cs.illinois.edu/current-students/graduate-students/professional-masters-mcs
- To the best of my knowledge, only one MSFE student has ever worked towards it. I think the student who is pursuing the MCS chose to do so after starting her MSFE degree.
- Those three options provided by Siebel are independent of the MSFE program by the way. They are offered to any student at UIUC, and there's no "computational finance track" at UIUC MSFE that will formally put you on a pathway leading you to complete those options. Its on your own initiative and advice to take the optional courses that you think will help your career.

(update: CS advising told me that there is an application that you need to fill out for the MCS. If you are already a UIUC graduate student, you fill out the curriculum change form and not a new application. Admission is competitive, and you will need a high gpa, previous coursework taken in CS, and some professional experience in order to get admitted. I suppose the best way would be to pursue a minor first so you fulfill the course requirements, and apply in the 3rd semester after you've completed some CS courses and have your internship on your resume as well.)

 

[Trisha]

I am facing the same choice. Would you mind to tell me your final decision?

 

[mihirr]

which is the better program overall?

 

[knightinberlin]

Hey, could you let me know what was your decision, your reasoning and what factors did you take into account? Would highly appreciate it, thanks!

 

[mihirr]

Hey, could you let me know what was your decision, your reasoning and what factors did you take into account? Would highly appreciate it, thanks!

I recently got accepted into NYU MFE, so for now, I’m leaning toward that while I wait for further decisions.

As for UIUC vs. BU, I personally think UIUC is the stronger program. It has better employment statistics, and its curriculum offers concentrations that align more closely with my interest. Additionally, its multiple industry partnerships also translated to opportunities to work on practicum projects. So, I would suggest UIUC as the better option.

Hope that helps

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Hey, could you let me know what was your decision, your reasoning and what factors did you take into account? Would highly appreciate it, thanks!

@mihirr picked NYU Tandon according to his tracker.